The Friday Night Boys

Having been about 4 months since our last interview and 3 years since starting out, on June 9 (today), The Friday Night Boys are to be releasing their debut album titled Off The Deep End. Keeping up with their heart-felt lyrics and catchy beats, singer Andrew Goldstein, guitarist Mike Toohey, bassist Robby Reider, and drummer Chris Barrett are more than ready to throw their record out to the fans.

Released first to the public was song Permanent Heartbreak on their myspace and was even played at several shows. “Permanent Heartbreak is the first song off the cd and I feel like it’s a good preview of what our cd is sort of like. I think it shows the sound and theme of our cd,” states Goldstein. With that said, Off The Deep End is going to have differences as well as similarities to previous release, EP That’s What She Said. “I think it’s a lot better. If you like That’s What She Said you’ll definitely love it, but it has more of a universal feel”, smiles Goldstein, “More rock, more rock & roll”. Having taken the guys only about 24 days to record, track , and produce the album, it’s said to have come out great.

Like all good artists, The Friday Night Boys had some of their ideas turned down, well in the case of the album cover any. “We were originally going to do the cd art of Andrew jumping,” Toohey laughs. “Me jumping off a house into a pool, but when we got there the pool was really narrow and when we got there, it was really high up. The photographer did the first test jumping in and he almost broke his leg,” Goldstein adds. After scratching that idea, the guys decided to come up with something more simple. A picture of a woman in a bikini and someone’s legs hanging over an inner tube chilling in a pool. The most interesting thing though is that the legs in the picture aren’t just anyone’s, they are those of non-other than tour manager Sam Hedenberg.

With the new album coming out, The Friday Night Boys hope to do well with the release of Off The Deep End and lucky for them, they head out on tour with Hey Monday the day after the release (June 10). If you haven’t already, go out and pick up a copy of Off The Deep End today and watch for The Friday Night Boys coming to a city near you!

 To view more pictures of the band, go check out the gallery.

Cute Is What We Aim For

Often referred to as CIWWAF or Cute is a band straight out of Buffalo, NY. Having been around for 3 years, Cute Is What We Aim For has made much progress since they had started. With several member changes and the release of their newest album, Rotation, everything just seems to be falling into place.

Rotation was released in June of this year, 2008, and has turned out to be just what the band was hoping for. “We’re really, really lucky to be where we are. We’ve sold a bunch of records and we did really good the first week,” smiles bassist Dave Melillo. Rotation is a lot different than their previous album, The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch, but great in it’s own way. Practice Makes Perfect was the first song to be selected as a single and helps fans to understand their new music.“I believe that it’s a marriage of the old sound and the new sound,” states Melillo, “It’s a good introduction to the new record and what we’re doing now.”

When on tour, bands need to some how stay occupied and every band has their own “special little ways”. For Cute Is What We Aim For, it includes hanging out in their huge bus. “We’ve got video games, we all buy movies like crazy, and we have the internet so we do that,” Melillo laughs, “We have enough business everyday to keep us busy from start to finish.”

Cute Is What We Aim For just recently finished touring with Secondhand Serenade, Automatic Love Letter, and A Rocket to the Moon and is worth going to see life. In February of next year, 2009, Cute Is What We Aim For is going to be headling the 8^th annual Take Action! Tour with Meg & Dia, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, and Anarbor. Official dates have not yet been announced. Be sure to watch for dates and catch them in a city near you.

To view pictures from the show, please go to the gallery.

A Rocket to the Moon

One of the newest additions to Fueled By Ramen family is a band none other than A Rocket to the Moon. Most people know of A Rocket to the Moon just as front man Nick Santino, what they don’t know is the other talent in the band as well. Bassist Eric Halvorsen, drummer Loren Brinton, and a guitarist that I had not gotten the chance to learn the name of.

A Rocket to the Moon was started in 2006 by Santino and was later joined by friends (Halvorsen and Brinton). Earlier this year, September 2008, they had gotten signed to the record label, Fueled By Ramen. Their first release under Fueled By Ramen was a five song EP entitled Greetings From… and was released October of this year. When you go out to buy the Greetings From…, don’t be alarmed when you open it up to find a burnt cd. It is real and just goes along with the theme of the EP. “Yeah, a lot of people are weirded out by it,” Santino laughs. Greetings From… includes both older songs remixed, such as Fear of Flying, as well as new songs including Dakota.

Everyone goes to concerts expecting different things from each band, and while checking out A Rocket to the Moon, you can expect a great time. “If you’ve never seen us live before, your in for a new experience,” shares Santino, “If you think you’re going to see one person singing on stage to an Ipod, then it’s really different. It’s definitely a lot of fun.” The easiest way to sum it up is that “it’s a party” as quoted by Halvorsen.

A Rocket to the Moon has previously had the chance to play with bands such as Hey Monday, The Cab, Brighten, This Providence, and The Maine, as well as many more. Most recently, these guys had ended their tour with Secondhand Serenade, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Automatic Love Letter. The next big tour these guys are going to be out on is the Alternative Press Tour 2009, whose dates go from March 20, 2009 to May 9, 2009. Be sure to check these guys out, and watch for them coming to a city near you.

To view pictures from the show, please visit the gallery.

Eye Alaska

It was only about 10 minutes until they were scheduled to play their first show with Ludo when they came sneaking through the crowd and rushing with their instruments toward the stage. “We drove 24 hours straight to get here”, laughs frontman Brandon Wronski.

Eye Alaska, or in aleution (language of original inhabitants of Alaska), “to look to those that which the sea breaks against” is a group of four from Orange County, California. “I live only about 10 minutes away from Disney Land”, smiles pianist / guitarist Chase Kensrue.

Starting out no more than 2 years ago, Eye Alaska had gotten signed to Fearless Records in April of this year (2008). Not more than 3 months later, they had released their EP Yellow & Elephant. “Yellow basically represents one element of our music and elephant is the other. Yellow being the lighter, more R&B, I guess, and then the elephant being the more darker, cinematic rock stuff”, comments Wronski, “we really try for genre-less music”. The band is scheduled to release a full-length album in May of 2009. No other information was given. “It’s like a soundtrack to your life kind of thing”, Wronski laughs.

Eye Alaska is a band that just never gives up. It seems that they’ve been through it all, or at least a lot. Whether it’s Wronski being teased throughout high school, working with the variety songs they have, or finding the perfect label family, which now has been found with Fearless, Eye Alaska is very determined to get there. “All of that just pushed me to work harder”, Wronski says with a smile.

Eye Alaska is currently out on tour with Ludo. Now until November 20, check for them coming to a city near year. These guys are definitely beyond worth checking out. They are both amazing musicians and great performers.

To view more pictures from the show, please be sure to check out the gallery.

Tenaidia

One of the younger bands out there and coming from the Mid-West is the one and only Tenaidia.

Tenaidia was started in late 2007 / early 2008 by guitarist Huy and some of his friends. They started the band with serious intentions, but at the same time as a joke. “I think we actually had our band practice with our old drummer starting New Years,” Huy states. Since then, the band has gone through a change in drummer and singer and has most recently added another guitarist.

This young band now consists of Huy (15), singer Nathan (19), bassist Jr. (15), drummer Amanda (13), and guitarist Joshua (16). These guys have played some amazing shows with some of the bigger names in music. Some of the bands they have played shows with include The Maine, There For Tomorrow, Ivoryline, and Emphatic, just to name a few.

The great thing about Tenaidia is that they are young and very dedicated to the band. “Everyone thought it was a joke at first and were like are you serious and we were just like yeah,” says Jr. Not only are they very serious about what they do, but Tenaidia has a unique sound of it’s own and when asked, many interesting answers had come up. “Cupcakes!” yells Amanda, “Pokemon,” Huy laughs, then getting more serious, “I would say We the Kings,” smiles Jr. and “Mayday Parade because I think I sound a lot like Derek”, says Nathan.

Being as committed as they are, Tenaidia has it’s influences. Some of the main inspiration’s the band has is family, Blink-182, Craig Mabbitt of Bless the Fall, Johnny Craig from Dance Gavin Dance, Amber Pacific, All Time Low, and Underoath.

These guys have a great opportunity starting out in Omaha and having many friends out there to support them. Tenaidia is currently taking a break form playing shows and will be recording and writing new songs with the new guitarist. If anyone gets the chance to see Tenaidia, don’t miss that opportunity. Tenaidia is a young, committed, and deserving band that would appreciate your support.

To view more pictures of this young band, be sure to check out the gallery.

Hawthorne Heights

All bands have to deal with obstacles to get recognition and Hawthorne Heights has gone through many. Starting out in 2001 in Dayton, Ohio, the guys have gone through a name change, problems with their label and most recently, the loss of their guitarist Casey Calvert.

Losing a band mate as well as a friend has got to be hard. In my interview, I tried not bring up the death of Casey, but the guys did. 4 Become 1 is a favorite song of singer JT Woodruff’s because it has the deepest meaning to him. The song is truly beautiful and I understand why it’s a favorite.

Hawthorne Heights is a group of really great guys and recently releasing their third album, Fragile Future, Hawthorne Heights is stronger than ever. With the new hit Rescue Me, this band is starting to get big again. Not to long ago, the music video for Rescue Me, world premiered on FNMTV. “The show was crazy with lights everywhere and you know all these screaming fans,” smiles drummer Eron Bucciarelli. A lot of bands seem to be premiering their music videos on FNMTV and for these guys it was a great honor. The new album Fragile Future is real different from the past albums, but it’s truly amazing.“ No one has told us that it sucks,”states Woodruff. It’s more calm than the past works and Woodruff’s vocals are just fantastic. Once you start listening, you most likely won’t be able to stop.

With dates scattered all over the place, these guys aren’t on tour much, but when they are, be sure to check the dates and find a city near you. I didn’t get to see them play live in Omaha at The Roxbury because of other obligations, but I did get to see them play acoustically at Homer’s music store. Either way these guys are worth getting to see and meet. Some future tour plans are to go out on tour with a band called Emery, from Seattle, WA. “ They’re just a group of really nice guys, really down to earth people, and are just great live,” says Woodruff. In the future, be watching out for this tour.

Not getting to see these guys live was a bummer, but they most likely will be back around. If you get the chance, check these guys out. As a matter of fact, go and pick up a copy of Fragile Future today and watch for them on tour in the fall.

To view more pictures from the acoustic performance at Homer’s, feel free to visit the gallery.

The Maine

Starting out small and quickly gaining success is a great band of 5 guys from Tempe, Arizona. The Maine started out in 2007, released their EP The Way We Talk (2007) and not more than a year after, released their debut album Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (2008). The success of The Maine has come very quickly and anymore, it seems they’re all that people talk about.

The release of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop came after several months of recording in Hollywood, some confusion about what to title it, and great success when released. “I was sitting up all night and I was just like stressing about it because we had a lot of lyrics written and I didn’t know what I wanted to exactly title the album, but I guess it describes our mentality and the way we like to do things,” front man John O’Callaghan states. Only two days after the release did O’Callaghan talk about how successful he thought it was, “On the friends and family front, they like it. Hopefully it’s that way (for everyone),” he laughs.

Touring with bands like Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, and Metro Station is a big break for The Maine. They are playing bigger venues and hanging with bigger bands. When asked to describe being on tour with Boys Lie Girls, Good Charlotte, and Metro Station, O’Callaghan described it as “amazing”. “I don’t think that any of us are still taking it all in… Good Charlotte was huge in my life. The shows have been crazy, we’ve played two so far and both of them have been insane,” O’Callaghan smiles.

Considering how young these guys are and how much they are touring, they have to keep themselves entertained while on the road. They spend much of their time on the computer, sleeping, driving, playing Frisbee, and they do “a ritual before every show” to get themselves pumped up. The “ritual” is this “quirky little dance thing,” as O’Callaghan puts it.

The band is currently on The Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour with bands Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, and Metro Station until August 26. Watch out for them to come to a city near you. Also, if you haven’t yet heard their album Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, go to the nearest store and buy it, trust me, it’s worth it.

To view more pictures from the concert, please be sure to check out the gallery.

Miles From Home

Starting out no more than 6 months ago in Washington is the one and only Miles From Home. “I knew (singer) Adam and (keyboardist) Cameron way back in high school”, says drummer Kayden Ressel, “ We played in bands back in high school and then Adam moved to California and then we went to college.” This sounds like it could be the end, but it’s not even the beginning. Miles From Home had released their EP This City Life earlier this year when front man Adam Oliveras moved back from California to Washington to join his fellow band mates and high school friends. This City Life has already become a great success, with receiving extremely high popularity ratings on Itunes, many of the guys didn’t know what to say. “I’m just thankful and happy that everything is going really well,” smiles guitarist Charlie Bailey. With a similar reaction is other guitarist, Zach Palmer. “It’s like people we’ve never met before telling us that stuff, it’s just incredibly surreal,” Palmer laughs.

Going on their first official tour, Miles From Home is learning what it’s like to live in a van and travel for months, or at least a month. “It’s been fun, we’ve never toured before so it’s like a learning experience”, bassist Chris Darling states. What’s the best part about being on tour? Let’s ask keyboardist Cameron Schnell. “Getting to hang out with these crazy kids *points to the rest of the band*. Everyone in the band is pretty much my best friend, so it’s pretty fun,” Schnell laughs.

Trying to keep the smiles going, all of the members of the band were asked the same strange question. Each one of them was asked to say a line from the song There’s Only One Think I About You and It’s Not Your Personality, which they play and or sing every night. They were asked how many times they could say the line Supposedly I’m supposed to be so subtly sweetly sweeping you off your feet without messing up. “Supposedly I’m supposed to be so subtly sweetly sweeping you off your feet, supposedly I’m supposed to be so subtly sweep, oh, there it goes. Just once, you got me,” Oliveras laughs. Most of the guys attempted it, but none of them were able to say it more than once. If you have some spare time on your hands, you should try it out, how many times can you say it without messing up?

Miles From Home is a group of six of the most fun loving guys I have seen and met. At the shows, they will come out and meet fans, and for a short time, they are still on tour with Racing Kites and Scenes and Sirens. After this tour, they are going to take a short little break, hopefully release their full length album early 2009 and then go on tour full time. “We’re supposed to have it (the album) done by the end of Christmas break and then we’re going to take some time off of school and tour full time, so we have to have it done by that first tour”, Darling tells.

Like mentioned before, take the time out to check out Miles From Home. They are going to be on tour on and off throughout the rest of July and August.

To view more pictures of Miles From Home, please visit the gallery.

Danger Radio

“Weird stuff just happens everyday,” laughs bassist Marvin Kunkel. When you’re in a band with 5 other guys, many weird things are sure to happen. Coming from Seattle, Washington is a sextet of some of the sweetest guys. Danger Radio started out with their earliest EP The Difference Between Love and Envy (2006), then not more than a year after that, they had released their second EP Punch Your Lights Out (2007). After releasing both EPs they have now decided a date for their upcoming and debut album Used and Abused, which is set to be released on July 8, 2008.

Everyone, it’s time to get excited, because Used and Abused is going to be an album that you’ve been waiting for (even if you don’t know it yet). “ It’s really fun, pop,” Kunkel says. With several demos being on their myspace for a little more than a year, some of them are to be included on their album. “Kiss N Tell will be on there, that’s on our myspace right now,” Kunkel comments, “You All Believe is on there too.”

Danger Radio, like every other band, tours and needs a way to stay occupied. “I play a video game called World of Warcraft. That’s my game,” Kunkel smiles. Kunkel has a laptop that he keeps with him on tour so he can stay connected with the internet and his game.

Touring with friends for long periods of time can tend to get pretty crazy, especially when it’s for several months. “Being in a band with so many guys, when you live with someone for two months, you learn their true personalities and you’re sitting in a van for 20 hours, people tend to get crazy. Like Andy (guitar), he tends to get pretty funny back here. He’s just random,” Kunkel states. In the end though, it seems to be pretty fun hanging out with fellow band mates.

Danger Radio is currently touring with Cute is What We Aim For, Ace Enders, and Powerspace. Watch the dates because they are most likely coming to a city near you. Be sure to check out this one of a kind group.

To view more pictures from the Danger Radio show, please visit the gallery.

The Cab

Coming from Vegas, some people expect the best, and with The Cab, they sure bring a show. Playing many cities and being one of the most recent members of the Fueled By Ramen family, The Cab is one group of unforgettable guys. I had gotten the chance to sit down with front man Alex Deleon and discuss many things. We ended up talking about guest vocalists on their new cd Whisper War, the bands recovery form their crash in February, and dirty taco shops.

Every band needs to start out somewhere and with The Cab, they used their connections and got themselves signed to the one and only Fueled By Ramen. “Panic actually gave our demo to them. I guess Panic was just really into it. They really wanted to help to help us out. I got a phone call from John, who was the owner and was into it, he said he would talk to me about it, we just talked about music and about like and we just really hit it off,” says Deleon with a smile on his face. Not only did The Cab get signed with the help of Panic, but Panic, as well as Fall Out Boy, also helped with one of the songs off of their new album, One of Those Nights. “It was awesome, I mean, Patrick and Brendon, before I started the band were like two of my biggest idols. Working in the studio with Patrick was definitely awesome he’s just, he’s so musical genius and such a funny guy. And Brendon, before I worked with him, we became friends so it’s just like, working with him is fun, it’s just fun hanging out. They’re just two definitely talented musicians that I’m very excited to have worked with us.”

In February, The Cab had gotten in a bad crash where they lost much of their equipment and have scarred themselves both physically and mentally. “Physically, I have a huge scar on my leg. Which is finally like, fully healed. We all have scars that are healing, but emotionally it’s still kinda hard to drive. The other night, we had to stop driving because it was too icy and we were just kinda scared. Every bump in the road still kinda scares me. We’re getting back on our feet though, our friends, family and fans have kept us on our feet and have kept us strong,” Deleon says while remembering. All of the guys are recovering and are doing fine while much of the equipment lost has been replaced.

Deleon is a great guy and has his own sense of humor as well. When asked to throw one random fact out, he came up with this. “About me? I love dirty taco shops. Mexican food is my favorite. If you ever want to get me a present, take me to a dirty taquería. Get me some carne asada. Carne asada, it means steak grilled, grilled steak.”

The Cab is currently finishing up their tour with Forever the Sickest Kids be sure to go check them out while they’re still on tour. Also, be sure to pick up a copy of their new album, Whisper War.

To view more pictures from the show, please visit the gallery.